|
|
|
|
Dr. Nathan Conrad is a New York psychiatrist who leads, what appears to be, the perfect life - he's successful, he has a beautiful wife and a loveable daughter, he has someone who cooks food for his family - what more could you ask for? Well, you could ask that your daughter not be kidnapped by a band of ruthless criminals who want you to somehow get a six-digit number out of the mind of a mentally unstable patient. That is sure to ruin anyone's day. And there you have the movie, Don't Say A Word.
Although the trailer for this movie makes it appear to be a
psychological thriller, make no mistake - this movie is simply a
"basic" thriller. There is nothing psychological about it. It
is Michael Douglas, once again, playing the desperate doctor, (or
businessman or detective), who, against all odds and in sheer
desperation, comes out on top in the end. Don't get me wrong, I am not
mocking Mr. Douglas - he does a very good job playing this type of a
role. He is not one of my favourite actors but he is definitely
respectable, and his acting in this film was no different. (Plus, as a
57-year old man, he was able to hook up with Catherine Zeta-Jones, so he
can't be that bad of a guy.)
After viewing the commercials and the trailer, I had thought that
Brittany Murphy was going to be the center of attention in this movie.
This is not entirely the case, although Brittany Murphy does do a decent
job in her role as the mental patient.
Overall, I found this movie to be lacking something. It was kind of like
going home and getting a huge Thanksgiving dinner and not getting any
dessert. It leaves you wanting more. It is a good movie, it leaves you
satisfied, but there is something missing that prevents Don't Say A Word
from being a great movie.
Having said that, there are several good things that I can say about
Don't Say a Word. Michael Douglas and Brittany Murphy did turn out
decent performances.
Sean Bean, who plays the uncompromising ringleader of the kidnappers, is
formidable. I did not like his character and, in the end, if I had the
choice of seeing him live or seeing him die, I preferred to see him die
(whether he does, I'll never tell), which, to me, is a good thing to
hope for the villain of a movie. I have found lately that, in a lot of
movies with a villain, the villain is just not villainous enough - Sean
Bean is villainous enough, if that makes any sense. And if it sounds
morbid of me to think that, well, too bad. (Think of a movie like Die
Hard - did you not enjoy seeing Hans fall a thousand feet to his death?
Or Lethal Weapon 2, when Mel slammed that South African dude's head with
the car door? I rest my case.)
I will also say that there is a good pace to this movie. There is never
really a dull moment and there is always something important enough
going on in the movie that you can't really sneak out of the theatre for
a bathroom break (which, once again, is a good thing).
I think that the empty feeling that I had at the end of this movie was
caused by the fact that I did not feel that I had to make an emotional
investment into this movie. If I had to suggest one thing to the makers
of Don't Say A Word, it would have to be the fact that they really
should have attempted to get the audience a bit more emotionally
involved in the movie. I never really felt Michael Douglas or his family
were in any real danger throughout the movie. Although I was curious to
see how the movie progressed, I cannot say that I was sitting on the
edge of my seat wondering what would happen next.
In the end, I will say that Don't Say A Word is a decent movie. It is
exciting, the acting is decent and I must say that I really enjoyed the
ending of the movie. There
is a scene at the end where Dr. Conrad is asking the kidnappers if they
really think they are alike - a very cool verbal exchange. I do recommend this movie. Although it leaves you with that
"I just had Thanksgiving dinner and there is no dessert?"
feeling, the fact that you had that dinner is good enough.
  
- 7.5/10
Brendan Cullin - Senior
Editor
More Reviews - Click
Here
|
|
|
|
|
